DG asks: “There are so many alternative medicine practices out there. Some of them sound very suspicious to me and refer to ‘life force energy’ and ‘spirit guides’ but some sound okay. I even know of a Catholic chiropractor who prays before treating people but he’s a Reiki Master! How does a Catholic know which ones are compatible with our faith and which ones are not?”
Author Archives: Susan Brinkmann
What You Might Not Know About the Peace Symbol
BW would like to know more about the peace symbol. “Often claimed to have been invented at the dawn of the nuclear age, I have dug a bit deeper and found it to be a broken-armed cross, favored by Nero. Also, it apparently decorates graves of Nazis (heavily into the occult). I suspect there is much more. . . “
What to Do About Those Email Prayer Chains
MI writes: “I don’t feel comfortable with this type of prayer request [that I received today]. ‘We are doing an Intercession of 1000 prayers for those people with cancer. Say the prayer and pass it to 10 people, Let me know if you cannot, so that we do not break this Intercession.’ Am I wrong? Isn’t it basically a chain letter. Would you participate? Looking forward to your thoughts!”
Archbishop Defends Church in Kansas Abortion Battle.
Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City has launched a vigorous defense of Church teaching in a recently published rebuttal against charges made by prominent Jewish Rabbi Mark H. Levin regarding abortion law in the state of Kansas.
Bishops Ask Faithful to Stop the (Dis)Respect for Marriage Act
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is calling upon the faithful to take action to prevent the passage of the so-called “Respect for Marriage Act” which Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is threatening to bring to a vote in the near future. Even though the vote must meet the 60 vote threshold, several Republicans have already promised to vote for the bill.
Game Requires Children to Role-Play a Sorcerer
Photo courtesy of Tourtefouille on WikiCommons, license at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en
A woman wrote to our ministry recently to ask for advice about a young family member who was very much into the game, Magic: The Gathering.
Catholics Should Not Join the Rosicrucians!
The Rosicrucian symbol (Wikicommons images, Rosicrucian Order AMORC, CC BY-SA 3.0)
IH asks: “A friend is being encouraged to join a group called Rosicrucians. Do you know anything about them and what information I can give to my friend.”
Dry Needling vs. Acupuncture
Photo by Antonika Chanel on Unsplash
CC asks: “Can you tell me if ‘dry needling’ is a New Age practice? I have heard a couple of people mention having had it done by their physicians in recent months and had never heard of it.”
The Frightening Reality of Curses (Part 2)
Photo courtesy of Ben White on Unsplash
In Part I of this series, we discussed the curse – what it is and how it is typically imposed upon people. In this article, we will look at what to do if we suspect that we are the recipient of a curse.
A Tale of Acupressure, Toe Rings and Weight Loss
MB asks: “My friend bought an acupressure ring and swears that it helped her lose weight. Is this possible?”
